electronic Aeronautical Information Publication (Phase 2 P-11)

The eAIP Specification 2.0 is developed under the EUROCONTROL Regulatory and Advisory Framework (ERAF), for the electronic Aeronautical Information Publication (eAIP). This Specification is designed to enable the harmonised visualisation of the contents of the AIP, which has to be provided by the national Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) in accordance with the ICAO Convention on Civil Aviation, in electronic form. The objective is to define a specification that could be associated with the interoperability implementing rule on the quality of aeronautical data and information developed in accordance with the Interoperability Regulation in the framework of the Single European Sky.In this context, the aim of the eAIP Specification is to increase and to standardise the use of automation in AIS by promoting electronic versions to replace the current paper-based elements of the Integrated Aeronautical Information Package (IAIP).

ICAO Compliance

The Specification is fully compliant with the ICAO requirements for AIP content and structure, as laid down in the Annex 15 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation - Aeronautical Information Services. It provides a standard way to:

visualise the content of these electronic documents on a computer screen, using Web technology

In the interest of global harmonisation, the eAIP Specification is made available for the general public on the EUROCONTROL Web site. The Specification is open for widespread use by any interested State and Organisation worldwide, for free.

Relation to AIXM

The Aeronautical Information Exchange Model (AIXM) is an XML specification intended for computer to computer exchange of aeronautical information. AIXM was originally developed by EUROCONTROL for the needs of the European AIS Database (EAD).

Both specifications, i.e. eAIP and AIXM, are based on XML and are closely linked to the content of the Aeronautical Information Publications. The essential difference between the two is that:

AIXM models the aeronautical information and is intended for computer-to-computer data exchange, while

the eAIP Specification models the AIP document and is mainly intended for facilitating the on-screen presentation.

Supporting materials

Supporting eAIP materials (eAIP Specification, Toolbox, presentations and papers from past workshops and user group meetings, etc.) are available on OneSky Teams.

Benefits

When compared to the current paper AIP, the implementation of an eAIP has advantages for both the organisation producing the eAIP and for its users.

Advantages for users of an eAIP:

possibility to visualise changes, both in text and graphics;

no maintenance effort;

no postal delays, when distributed through the Internet or equivalent private networks;» available at hand for the whole company (no need to go to the library);

easy archiving;

proven authenticity of the document (if digitally signed by the issuing AIS).

Advantages for producers of an eAIP:

better AIP (consistency, integrity , usability);

the majority of the subscribers do no longer ask for paper amendments;

technological leap forward;

reduced risk and cost as compared to isolated development;

reduced costs for internal copies;

easier to create integrated/regional AIPs;

easy archiving (better support for legal proceedings);

possibility to guarantee the integrity and the authenticity of the document by digitally signatures.

Since November 2004, the European AIS Database (EAD) is able to store and offer for consultation electronic AIP complying with the EUROCONTROL eAIP Specification

Approach

Technology - Extensible Markup Language (XML)

The eAIP is based on XML (eXtensible Mark-up Language), which is a meta-language - a language used to define other languages). XML has been chosen because it is commonly used for structuring documents and it is suitable for both human-to-computer and computer-to-computer interactions. It is a recognised standard since 1998, widely adopted by the software developers in many industries.

The XML standard has enabled the definition of an "eAIP language", which enables people and computers talking to each other using the same vocabulary and grammar. An electronic AIP is in fact an XML document, conforming to the eAIP Document Type Definition (DTD).

Although human readable, XML is not suitable for end users because it contains only the bare information, without any formatting artefacts. For on-screen display, the eAIP is transformed into HTML (Hyper-Text Mark-up Language). When paper is the target, the eAIP is transformed into PDF or PostScript, which may be easily printed.

Charts and graphics can be in various formats, the most interesting one for aeronautical charts being the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format. It is a vector format, which offers perfect display quality at any scale.

Deliverable

The eAIP Document Type Definition (DTD) is the central component of the eAIP Specification. It is complemented by:

three manuals, each targeting a specific stakeholder category: users, editors and developers

eAIP samples in XML, HTML and PDF format

baseline style sheets for converting an XML eAIP into HTML and PDF format

The EUROCONTROL eAIP is not a software tool. It is a concept and a technical specification. It is a foundation on which aeronautical information users and industry can define and build the tools they need in order to exploit the "electronic AIP" concept at its full potential.

The eAIP Specification has undergone comprehensive testing and validation, which have been completed mainly through pilot implementations. These have been initiated, on a voluntary basis, in Belgium, Slovenia, The Netherlands, Armenia, Moldova, Germany (military), Slovak Republic, Italy and Latvia. The contribution of these States to the development of the eAIP Specification is hereby acknowledged.

Implementation

The States currently publishing an Electronic AIP that complies with the EUROCONTROL eAIP Specification are listed below.

Demonstration

In order to evaluate the capabilities of the eAIP concept, a set of samples eAIP documents are made available on this site. The content of these files is based on the content of the ICAO AIP Specimen, as provided within the ICAO AIS Manual (DOC 8126). The aeronautical data is entirely fictitious.

eAIP Specimen - under development!

SVG charts - these charts are part of an eAIP prototype, which was developed by EUROCONTROL for the German Military AIS (AFSBw). It demonstrates a way to dynamically visualise amendments on charts.

Resources

Industry websites

eAIP production and publication software is provided by industry. The companies listed here claim to provide services or products directly related to implementation of an eAIP in accordance with EUROCONTROL's Specification. The order is alphabetical. To have your organisation (commercial or not) listed here, contactaim@eurocontrol.int .

Avitech - The eWiz@rd Suite is designed to assist implementation of ICAO Annex 15 recommended Quality System in AIP departments of state civil/military AISs and other Service Providers. All eAIP standard formats are supported (HTML, XML, PDF, Paper).

Egis Avia - Atalis provides a complete and integrated solution for AIP and eAIP publication. Relying on a single AIXM database for both text and charts, Atalis improves publication accuracy and reliability through a data quality workflow and process.

XML Resources

Disclaimer: The inclusion of an organisation's name in this list does not imply in any way the endorsement of their products/services (or of the organisation itself) by EUROCONTROL. Users and buyers should make sure that these products and services are 100% compliant to the eAIP Specification.